[ScoopLV]

Ford F-150. I don't have a PHILL unit, though. It doesn't make financial sense unless we had TWO CNG vehicles. I'm OK filling up at the Clean Energy sites for $2.50 a GGE.

[AA702]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Ford F-150. I don't have a PHILL unit, though. It doesn't make financial sense unless we had TWO CNG vehicles. I'm OK filling up at the Clean Energy sites for $2.50 a GGE.

What kind of mileage do you get? What is your range? Does the tank take up your bed? I've seen some late model f150s with 4.6 V8 converted for sale in Utah for about 10K (these are XL models)

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by AA702

What kind of mileage do you get? What is your range? Does the tank take up your bed? I've seen some late model f150s with 4.6 V8 converted for sale in Utah for about 10K (these are XL models)

Mileage is hard to gauge -- CNG doesn't work like that. It's sold by the pound.

Range is around 150 miles with a 5.4L engine. Give or take depending on AC use. Costs $25 for a fill, so $0.17 per mile.

The tanks take up about 1/3 of the bed, making my long bed truck the equivalent of a short bed.

There are some other advantages:

• No smog check necessary, ever.
• I can drive in every HOV lane in America
• Oil changes every 15,000 miles
• Plug changes every 100,000 miles
• Very little wear and tear on the engine, because methane is far better than gasoline -- I should be good to go for another 200K or so.

I bought the truck from the city in 2010. Paid $4K for a 2003 with 70K on the clicker.


The one disadvantage? There are six places in LV I can gas up. And the Clean Energy stations are "down for maintenance" FAR too often.


I could never drive cross-country with the truck, because I'd run out of gas somewhere before Victorville or Flagstaff.

[m73m95]

Cost per mile is a good way to figure the cost between different fuels.... I wish I had thought of that

I'll have to figure out what my CPM (cost per mile) is on e85.

You have to remember though, the energy in a gallon of CNG is about half of the energy in a gallon of gasoline. So, I bet your gas mileage is about half of what it would be on gas, but the cost of CNG is so low, that you're still saving money.

I just about break even on e85. I maybe save ~$5 per tank...


Also, Snoop, you could probably get a little bit better gas mileage by reprogramming your computer to use CNG more efficiently.

[bledsoe3]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Mileage is hard to gauge -- CNG doesn't work like that. It's sold by the pound.

Range is around 150 miles with a 5.4L engine. Give or take depending on AC use. Costs $25 for a fill, so $0.17 per mile.

Gas at $3.63 a gallon (what I paid last time i filled up) equals 21 miles per gallon to get $0.17 per mile.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by bledsoe3

Gas at $3.63 a gallon (what I paid last time i filled up) equals 21 miles per gallon to get $0.17 per mile.

Keep in mind, that in order to compare apples to apples, you'll need to find a 310-horsepower truck that provides 365-footpounds of torque, that's also routinely getting 21 miles per gallon city. (Good luck with that.)

I don't just have a CNG vehicle, I have a CNG truck. I'm very likely to have a load of gravel or dirt in the bed, or hauling tools or porcelain tile or whatever. I searched for a truck first, CNG second.

I could keep costs down a lot further by purchasing a more fuel-efficient CNG vehicle. Honda makes a good one. But I can't put a ton of rock in the trunk that way.

[AA702]

CNG is not perfect, but it does make sense. Most countries in Asia use it on cars, trucks and buses. Unless we get more fill stations it probably will not catch on too well.

[Buzz123]

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